Re: Ardbeg Ardbog

Originally Posted by MacinJosh

Got to try this last night. Started off with the typical young, bold, big Ardbeg peat that I love. Mid-palate was nice as well with some salty cracker notes as the Manzanilla kicked in and began to turn sweet.

Unfortunately, the finish ruined it for me and I use that term loosely. This is no Galileo flop, a solid dram for sure, but the finish turned a bit sappy/borderline cloying and after 30-45 seconds....chalky. And I HATE chalky.

Looks like I'll be passing on another Ardbeg release. It pains me to say that.

Originally Posted by sutton

Have to agree with Josh here - esp. for $100 a bottle. Had a chance to sample this earlier this week and loved the nose and palate and with water the peat subsided some and a nice malty/fruitiness emerged. But the finish wasn't there for me either - chalky is a good description; kind of bitter/salty to me.

Bitter and Salty is exactly what the finish is to me, and not at all in a good way. This is the first Ardbeg I've tasted that I just didn't want to have another pour of right away. While I didn't love Galileo I did think it was better than the bog for sure, Galileo at least had a lot of the smoke which I love in ardbeg, I didn't find so much of that in the bog, just an overpowering sweet and saltiness. I sure hope they have a lot of aging casks there with the plan for an eventual age statement because if they keep releasing the same ole 10-12 year old tweaked with a few sherry casks or some other finish they're going to lose fans and customers real fast!

C

"everybody defamates from miles away
but face to face
they haven't got a thing to say"

Re: Ardbeg Ardbog

These are readily available for about $85 in Colorado and the spirit buyer at my local store said he has never seen such little interest in a release. For me, it is just too hard to imagine what Scotch finished in bourbon and Sherry casks tastes like and $85 is too much to pay to find out when the reviews of real drinkers are mixed.

Re: Ardbeg Ardbog

Thanks to c dub, I got to try the Ardbog last night. I found it to be disgusting.

It has a lot of bitterness to it - I am speaking of green, young whisky bitterness. There is a reason this is NAS. There may be some 10yo in there, but my palate tells me that most of that bottle is 6-7yo spirit covered with a crappy finish. As disappointing as Galieo was, I thought it was better than Ardbog. Ardbeg has really jumped the shark - I only wonder if next year's release will be finished in BT warehouse floor spillage and called "Ardstagg" or "Arddy Van Beggle".

Counterpoint to LB's experience, I like the sweet/salty/bitter of this expression - agreed that it tastes youngish but I like it for what it is... Whether or not I would purchase another bottle is up for debate - there's just so many other good whiskies out there for the money.

Re: Ardbeg Ardbog

Just passed on an Ardbog at $100. Haven't tried it yet but will pass on the price based on the tasting notes you guys put up. Really sucks to say that because it was my first taste of Ardbeg that started my whole love affair with whiskey.

Peggy: Look Al, the rubes think I'm sexy!
Al: So would I if I had whiskey for breakfast.

Re: Ardbeg Ardbog

Thanks to a fellow member got to finally try my sample of this. The nose is nice, salt peat and smoke. The taste to start is good but the finish is kinda bad, bitter and hot. Will save the $100 price tag. Thanks again sir for the sample.

Peggy: Look Al, the rubes think I'm sexy!
Al: So would I if I had whiskey for breakfast.